The Church is God's answer:
More churches doing more missions is more of what God wants.

October
2016

Congregation in Tennessee sends team to Haiti to provide medical and dental services, operate a feeding ministry for children, and provide help at a girls’ orphanage.
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A Southern Baptist congregation in Tennessee received its first Mission Match Matching Contribution to send a team to Haiti, partnering with a Christian helping agency there.

According to their follow-up report, the team conducted five days of medical and dental clinics. They also operated a feeding ministry through which they provided hot meals to over 2,100 children in five days. Additionally, the team helped a local girls' orphanage by doing construction projects as well as assisting the orphanage workers to care for the children.

Fourteen of the 24 mission team members were on last year's trip. These returning members have been sponsoring children at the orphanage, maintaining an ongoing relationship with the children. This trip also inspired new mission team members to begin sponsorship relationships with children they met at the orphanage.

A team member stated being part of the mission trip helped to expand her understanding of what God is doing all around the world, rather than just in her own town.

A second team member said that her time in Haiti has caused her to fall in love with the Haitian people.

A third team member said that it was exciting to see what God is doing in Haiti and that she came home with a new sense of enthusiasm and motivation to be a more active church member.

"Mission trips change lives," said the pastor of this congregation.

September
2016

Congregation in Indiana sends a team to Haiti to work on a construction project, feed hungry children, and provide medical/dental assistance.
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A non-denominational congregation from Indiana received its second Mission Match Matching Contribution to send a team to Haiti to work with a Christian agency there. The team worked on a construction project to build a girls' orphanage. Although the team did not see the project through to completion, several of the team members plan to return this winter to continue the construction. Other members of the team provided rice and beans to local children, many of whom get only one or no meals each day. The team also provided medical and dental services. A response from the congregation’s follow-up comments stated:

"Our team averaged 150 patients a day in the medical clinic (with a high of 195 on the last day) and 100 patients a day in the dental clinic. We saw some very ill people - some we were able to heal (in Jesus' name) and some we were only able to comfort. We prayed with many of them!"

Additional follow-up comments were, "Our goal at [church] is to get people thinking globally. If they don’t feel called to go on mission trips, then financially support those who do feel called."

The congregation's initial application letter stated, "We are very excited that more people are interested in going to Haiti this year. It is our desire to eventually have teams going on international trips several times a year." On this mission trip, there were new members on the team, for whom this was their first mission trip. Follow-up comments stated, "They both said that the trip was life-changing, and they plan to return to Haiti next year!"

August
2016

A Missionary church in Indiana sends a team of youth to Mexico to help build a house for a family in need.
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An Indiana congregation sent a teen mission team to partner with a local helping agency in Mexico, helping build a home for a family in need. The family consisted of a woman, her daughter and son-in-law, and their four girls.

The mission team also distributed food to families and provided toys to a local daycare. As stated in their follow-up comments, the mission team members strived to "show the love of Christ to those we came in contact with."

When asked about how Mission Match helped the congregation in their mission giving and awareness, the response from the youth pastor was, "I believe it [Mission Match] did help spur our congregation to more missional giving. I heard from many people who were excited about our upcoming trip, then we shared when we returned and the same people were asking about when we would be going again!"

August
2016

Congregation in Illinois sends a team to El Salvador to work to build a home for a local family. (click to open/close)

A Lutheran church from Illinois sent a team to El Salvador to work with an agency there, building a home for a local family. Some of the work included digging, pouring the foundation, and laying cement blocks for the house. In addition, the team was able to build a relationship with the family for whom the house was being built. Follow-up comments state, "We also had the pleasure of becoming personal friends of the family. God’s love was shown by each of us and return of God’s love by them to us."

Here are comments made by other members of the mission team:

"Each of us has unique, God-given talents, gifts, circumstances, occupations, interests, and hobbies. It is through these blessings that we serve the Lord. Our special skills and knowledge become the tools to be part of the work of God’s kingdom. We each have a job to do for Christ."

"I think we have experienced God being here with us this week. Even across the 1,800-mile distance between El Salvador and C, God is with us and everyone here and there as well."

"We've all worked very hard and have been blessed with many visitors to our work site from [the agency] which gives us great encouragement to do this work for these magnificent people who, like us, love our Savior and Lord."